


Not So Blinded by the Light

by onlyslightlyneurotic (orphan_account)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-18
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-09 03:44:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1141026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/onlyslightlyneurotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A random act causes Oliver and Felicity (and others) to question their relationship status.  I started writing prior to 2-13 so officially AU now.  Olicity.</p><p>*** please review, I would love to hear what you think ***</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The world came into focus slowly. His head hurt. He tried to shake the fuzziness out. Definitely made it worse. Where was he? Oliver tried to focus on the last things he remembered. He was leaving Queen Consolidated. He was talking to Felicity about a merger that was on the table for the next morning. He remembers a van driving by erratically on the neighboring street and then a blinding light.

He sat up quickly. Felicity. The world started to swim in front of him. He was blasted by a wave of nausea. He ignored it and tried to rip the IV out of his wrist. Surprisingly resilient. Goddamn hospital tape.

"Oliver, lie down before you hurt yourself more than you already are". Only his mother would speak to him in that tone. She was sitting on a chair next to him. He felt her hand try to push him back down on the hospital bed.

"Mom, where's Felicity?" Oliver said trying to peer around her. He could see Thea standing off to the side.

"Your assistant?" "I didn't know she was brought in with you". Moira looked distressed at the pained expression on Oliver's face. "A number of people were hurt in the explosion. Everyone who was injured was brought here. The police think it was some kind of act of terror at this point".

"Ollie, you've been unconscious for the last 3 hours. You have a concussion." Thea came and put her hand on his shoulder. 

"3 hours?" Oliver ripped the IV forcibly from his arm pulling the stand down in the process. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up. That's when the world went black again.

"Oliver"... "Oliver"...

He woke back up to two faces peering over him. "Oliver you have to stay in bed" his mom scolded. She did not look impressed. 

He tried sitting up again. "I have to find out what happened to Felicity". His voice broke on the last syllable of her name. He was officially panicking. Oliver Queen rarely panicked. He pressed the call button on his hospital bed. He figured someone in the hospital would know if she was brought in. He could feel his heart rate accelerating. He wondered if this is what it felt like to have an anxiety attack? He pressed the call button twice more. His mother and Thea shared a questioning look with one another.

One thing about being Oliver Queen is that people tended to react fairly quickly to his requests. His call button brought not only the duty nurse but the ward physician as well.

"Mr. Queen!" The physician looked thrilled to see him awake. "How are you feeling?" "You gave us quite a scare, we were pretty sure...” He stopped talking when he realized his patient was scowling at him. 

"I need to find out information on a woman who was with me during the explosion". Oliver couldn't keep the concern out of his voice. "Her name is Felicity Smoak".

"Here” said a little voice from the doorway. All five heads in the room turned to face Felicity. The petite blond shuffled into the room embarrassed to be the center of attention. She looked a little worse for wear. Her hair was tangled loose from her trademark ponytail and her work clothes were dirty and disheveled. She had a cut and what appeared to be fresh stitches on the underside of her hairline near her right temple.

Felicity waved her right arm that had a Starling City Emergency Room bracelet on it. "It turns out that if your last name isn't 'Queen' it takes awhile to get through the queue in the emergency room". Felicity blushed remembering that half of the people in the room were Queens. 

Moira moved out of the chair in front of Oliver's bed to allow Felicity to get closer to Oliver.

Felicity sat beside the bed taking one of Oliver's hands into her own. She leaned down so their foreheads touched. They stayed that way for a moment. Oliver closed his eyes and took his first full breath since waking up in the hospital. 

An awkward silence filled the room. Thea noticed first and quickly asked Felicity what she remembered. Felicity sat up but kept her hand lightly on top of Oliver's.

"Not much. The van. The flash. The noise of the back of Oliver's head connecting with the sidewalk." She turned to face him. "That is an awful sound by the way. How are you feeling? Your chart said they almost had to do surgery to reduce the swelling. I've always said you had a swollen head but...” She stopped talking. 

The physician was looking at her strangely. Probably wondering how she had access to Oliver's chart. "Electronic charting..." Felicity muttered just loud enough that Oliver could hear. He smiled slightly. He reached up and lightly turned her chin away from him so he could see the side of her face. He gently pushed her hair away and with his free hand lightly traced his fingers just above the 2-inch cut near her temple.

"Stray glass from the scene." Felicity said. "I'm one of the lucky ones." They shared another look without saying anything.

Oliver's physician took a step further into the room. "We really should examine Mr. Queen and then let him rest." The doctor looked down at Oliver. "What happened to your I.V.?"

Thea took this as her cue to leave. "Bye Ollie, feel better soon. Roy and I will come see you later".

"Thanks Thea". Oliver smiled at his younger sibling.

Moira looked more hesitant to go. "Oliver, I am not leaving until you promise me that you will listen to your doctors and stay in the hospital until they say you can leave". She knew her son well.

"Don't worry, he promises” Felicity smiles up at Moira and then gives Oliver a very pointed look.

"Fine." Says Oliver.

Felicity stands up to leave. "I need to get home and clean up a bit." Her fingers trail off of his arm.

He looked sad at the broken contact. "Come back?" 

She gave him a full smile and tilted her head slightly. "Always."


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver Queen was not happy. 48 hours of observation before they would even consider discharging him. No chance of parole. No passing go. Especially if his pretty little warden had her way. Felicity was quietly typing on her tablet in the chair next to his hospital bed. She had pulled up one of those flimsy hospital tables and set up a mini workstation. She was weeding through some of their QC paperwork. This left him stuck... resting...

He glanced sideways at her. She looked as though she was back to her regular self. Ponytail, blouse, glasses, pencil skirt... He tilted his head slightly... rather short pencil skirt actually... She had tried to pull her hair back to minimize the appearance of the cut on her face but he could still see it. He closed his eyes and sighed. 44 more hours. He really hated lying down. He sighed again.

Felicity looked up at him and adjusted her glasses. "Yes Oliver?" She bit lightly on her bottom lip. She looked slightly exasperated.

"Are you sure there's nothing more we need to do on our end?" He looked antsy and frustrated. "30 people were injured, we're just lucky no one was killed."

"No Oliver, Starling City's finest managed to take care of this one all on their own." Felicity passed Oliver her open tablet. "Detective, well, Officer Lance has already sent me the police report."

Oliver looked down at the tablet. "I can't read this." He said grumpily. "Everything is still blurry."

Felicity took her tablet back. "Just a disgruntled unemployed city worker trying to take out his anger on corporate greed." "He's in custody and will be for some time."

"Knock Knock". Diggle appeared through the open doorway. "How is our patient doing?"

Felicity looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you feel the need to ask?"

"About as well as I expected then." Dig tossed Felicity a duffle bag. "I stopped by and grabbed him a change of clothes and some toiletries."

Oliver grimaced and felt a wave of nausea as he tried to sit up. "Thanks Dig." 

Felicity slid her chair closer to Oliver and pushed him back down on the bed. She kept her hand resting on his stomach. "You will keep getting dizzy if you keep trying to sit up". She poked him in the abdomen for emphasis. "You need to lie still." Oliver clenched his teeth and slid back down.

Dig watched them and smiled. "All right then, I’m going to head down to the Foundry and make sure everything's running smoothly."

Felicity smiled at Diggle and gave him a little wave goodbye. Oliver looked as though he would sell his first born to go with him.

***

42 more hours. Time was crawling by. He watched Felicity type. Every now and then she paused to think about something. Her hair looked lighter under the hospital fluorescents. She tucked a stray lock behind her ear. He wonders why he's never asked her about her industrial piercing. It seems out of character for her. He's curious if there is some sort of story behind it.

"Oliver..." Felicity stopped typing and turned to face him. "I can feel you staring." "Please tell me if there's something on my face, or if you're just trying to make me nervous."

He shifted so he was lying with his head on his elbow looking at her. "I'm just glad you're here." 

"How hard did you hit your head Oliver?" She gave him a soft smile. 

He warmed at the appearance of her hidden dimples. It was impossible not to smile back at her. He was glad she was there.  
"You scared me today Felicity." He reached out and brushed the hair above where her stitches were. His fingers lingered above her temple.

She closed her eyes briefly. 

Oliver brought his hand down. "I pretty much lost it when you weren't here when I woke up."

She took his hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry I didn't try harder to leave word with your family that I was okay." She paused and looked down at their hands. "I'm not used to people caring."

"I do care Felicity..." 

She raised her eyes to meet his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/Reviews always welcome...


	3. Chapter 3

"I do care Felicity..."

She raised her eyes to meet his. She didn't pull her hand back. He ran his thumb lightly across her fingers. His heart started to beat a little faster. For a man able to fool a lie detector test, he was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. He wanted to kiss her. It wasn’t the first time he felt that way. But he knew that it would mean crossing a line he was not willing to cross with her. He couldn’t. To acknowledge that there even was a line to cross would mean that he would have to acknowledge that he felt something for her more than friendship. He swore to himself that he wouldn’t put her at that kind of risk. It was better if he didn't allow himself to care about anyone that way.

Considering he couldn’t even lift his head up, kissing her wasn’t really an option anyways. 

But he let himself want to for a moment.

Seconds passed and neither of them said anything. His hospital room door opened and his mother and Thea walked in together. They stopped short when it appeared as though they were interrupting something. Felicity extracted herself from the chair and from Oliver’s hand. She started collecting her things. “It’s getting late Oliver, I should really go. What kind of visiting hours do you have here anyways?” He looked rather sheepish. “Oh, right, your family owns most of the hospital…” Her voice trailed off. She smiled at the Queen women. “Don’t let him convince you he’s ready to get up, I practically had to tie him down to convince him to stay in bed all afternoon.” Moira raised her eyebrows. Felicity blushed. She looked at Oliver and smiled. Their eyes met again.

“Thank you,” he said. “See you tomorrow?” 

She nodded and slipped out past Moira and Thea. They both watched her leave the room.

Moira came over to Oliver and kissed him gently on his forehead. “Hello dear.” She took the seat by the bed. Thea came to give him a quick hug. He winced a little. He really wished his head would stop hurting.

“Oliver…” His mother started then stopped. She looked over to where Felicity had just exited the room.

“Yes mom?” He had a feeling where this conversation was headed.

“How long have you been dating your secretary?” she asked, patiently waiting for his answer. 

“Felicity's my assistant. And we are not dating." Oliver fidgeted in his hospital bed. He could feel his headache getting worse.

“Oh I don’t know what you young people call it these days but you are obviously involved with her.” Moira gave him an indulgent look.

“Come on Ollie, you're always with her." Thea actually looked glad he was so obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

"No, no. We are definitely uninvolved". He gave his mom a levelled look, hoping to end the discussion. "She is my friend and my assistant and that is all".

"Oliver, forgive me for not believing you, but any female friend you've ever had I've ended up finding pieces of their clothing strewn about your bedroom at some point." Moira said. 

Thea laughed. Oliver didn't think the conversation could get any more awkward. 

"Plus", Moira continued, "what MIT educated young woman gives up a job in the IT department of a respected company to become a glorified secretary?" 

He was actually surprised his mom knew Felicity had gone to MIT. She must have done some research on her. The rumours regarding the circumstances of Felicity's job change at Queen Consolidated must be worse than he thought. His mother probably had been biding her time for weeks waiting to ask him about it.

He opened his mouth to say something. "Mom..." He closed his mouth again. He didn't really have an answer for her. He couldn't exactly give her the same secret identity reasoning he gave Felicity when he convinced her to move up 18 floors.

"And the way you two look at each other Ollie." Thea sighed. "It's very sweet."

Oliver rolled his eyes and wished he could escape his hospital bed.

"She's really very pretty Oliver". Moira said as if needing to justify her opinion. "Not your usual type but pretty none the less."

"Yes she is. But we are not together." Oliver closed his eyes, exasperated. "Look, I appreciate you both coming over here but it's been a long day. I really could use some rest."

"Oliver, are you asking us to leave?" Moira looked surprised.

"Sorry mom, I'm just feeling rather tired all of a sudden."  
"Of course dear, we won't bother you anymore." Moira tucked the blanket closer around him and then guided Thea towards the exit.

Thea turned around as she was leaving through the doorway. "I bet you wouldn't ask Felicity to go..." She said in a sing song voice.

No, Oliver thought, he wouldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver was sitting up in his hospital bed. He felt a lot better after 8 hours of sleep. He was able to sit up without getting light headed and he was even able to move about his room without too much pain or dizziness. He stared at the unpalatable breakfast on the tray in front of him. Runny eggs, darkened toast and a bowl of gelatinous green cubes. He pushed the tray away from him. "Who eats jello for breakfast?" he muttered.

Felicity entered his room after knocking briefly. "Thought you might be hungry for something other than hospital food." She waved a paper bag bearing the logo of a local coffee shop. He noticed she was dressed for work, she must be planning to go into the office later. She set a cup of coffee down in front of him. She looked at him pointedly and held up two fingers. He caught her eyes and smiled at the inside joke. She smiled back and passed him the bag containing a bagel and a selection of fruit. His typical morning fare. 

"How are you feeling?" she asked taking the seat by the bed.

"Good. Better." He took a sip of coffee. "I think I'm ready to go."

"Oliver, please tell me you'll listen to the advice of your doctor. You really need to stay put until you are cleared to go."

As if he had heard their discussion, Oliver's doctor entered the room. "Hello Mr. Queen. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Good. Fine. I would like to leave." Oliver stared down the doctor.

"Mr. Queen. You've had quite a head injury. Standard protocol is to keep you here on a 48 hour observation." The doctor swiped through some pages on his tablet, hoping to end the conversation.

"I think we can make an exception in this case." Oliver spoke firmly in a voice that not many would challenge.

"Oliver, I don't think that's a good idea." Felicity reached out and touched his arm. He could see the concern in her face. 

"Mr. Queen, I have to agree with your girlfriend." The doctor tried to stand his ground.

"Oh. No. I'm not his girlfriend." Felicity took her hand off his arm. "Assistant."

The doctor looked back and forth between them. "I'm sorry, I just assumed..." 

Oliver cut him off. "Look, what do I have to do to get out of here?"

"I guess I could order another CT scan to check and see if the swelling has gone down." The doctor looked nervous and not just a little bit intimidated.

"Good, let's make that happen." Oliver left no doubt in his voice on what he expected the results to be.

 

***

 

It was dark in the Foundry. Felicity flipped the breaker that turned on the interior lights. "Diggle's left already." she said glancing down at her phone. "He just texted that everything was quiet on his patrol through the Glades." Oliver suspected Diggle got more than a little joy masquerading as the Arrow while he was in the hospital.

"I still can't believe you talked the doctor into releasing you early." Felicity shook her head. "You didn't need to scare the poor man." She hung up her jacket at the bottom of the stairs. "Seriously though, please take it easy for the next couple of days."

Felicity went over to her workstation. She sat down and scanned through the events she had her computer screens monitoring. Oliver watched her from behind. He loved watching her flip between the three screens. He felt a warmth spread through his body. Once again it amazed him to think of how much he's grown to care about her over the last 18 months. Loosing her for that brief period of time after his injury only made him more aware of it.

"Oliver, you're doing it again". She still faced her computer screens with her back towards him. "I can feel you staring. You're really going to give me a complex. What's up?"

He walked over to her and gently spun her chair around so she was facing him. "Do you ever wonder why so many people think we're together?"

She was obviously not expecting his question. She stammered her response, "Who thinks we're together?"

"The doctor, my mom, Thea." He paused and continued, "most of Queen Consolidated."

"Well, I would assume it's because we're two young people who seem to spend a lot of time in each other's company." She nodded as if validating her statement. 

She stood up to move past him. He caught her arm on her way by to stop her from passing.

"I think it's more than that. I think people can see something more between us." He paused. He dropped his voice down a level. "I know there's something more between us." He stopped talking. The silence between them felt heavy all of a sudden.

"What exactly are you saying Oliver?" She spoke softly and clearly. She looked at him. He could see the questions she had in her eyes.

"I'm saying that I don't want to pretend I don't care anymore."

Oliver leaned down so that his face was almost touching hers. Felicity didn't back away but she didn't move any closer. They stared at one another. His lips hovered above hers. They shared the same breath as he moved even closer to her. He put his hands on her waist. 

"You have to tell me if you want that too." He whispered it to her, his lips brushing against her cheek as he spoke. He kept his face there waiting for her response.

Felicity closer her eyes briefly and then opened them. "I’ve never been very good at pretending." She tilted her head just enough that their lips met.

They were blinded by an entirely different kind of light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first fan fiction posting. Please consider writing a review or comment. I would love to hear what you think and if you liked it!
> 
> Thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

Their lips barely brushed against one another. Oliver released her waist. One of his hands moved up to the back of her neck, tipping her face more towards him. He deepened the kiss when he felt her response. He closed his eyes, allowing for him to savour the moment.

Felicity turned her head slightly, breaking apart from the kiss. "Wait, Oliver what are we doing?" She opened her eyes to look at him.

"Kissing." he murmured, burying his face into the side of her neck. Her skin was so soft. She smelled nice, like lavender and vanilla. His hands circled her waist again and he pulled her closer to him. She lifted her neck as he trailed kisses along her jaw line. His mouth found hers again. Tentative at first, then hard and more urgent.

Oliver felt two small hands pushing against his chest. She broke apart from him. Felicity angled her face so her forehead rested against his chin. "Oliver... I'm pretty sure you know that's not what I meant. " 

He interrupted her. "You're overthinking this." His hands moved slowly up from where they rested on her waist. He gathered the fabric of her blouse to allow the tips of his fingers to slide underneath and brush against the small of her back. It was as though an electric current singed through him. He felt the sharp intake of her breath as she felt the connection. She looked up at him.

"Oliver, overthinking is kind of what I do. You're not even two hours out of the hospital after a pretty major head trauma. For all I know you're still concussed and hopped up on pain meds. I think it's fairly safe to say that you might not be thinking clearly." She placed heavy emphasis on the last statement.

"Felicity, I promise you that I feel fine and I haven't had any pain medication since yesterday. I'm positive that I know exactly what I want." He stared at her, his fingers tracing gentle patterns on her lower back beneath her shirt. She shivered. He paused for a moment. "Do you want this Felicity?"

She looked up at him. Her emotions reflected through her eyes.

"Yes." She said softly.

That was all the encouragement he needed. His hands splayed across her back and he pulled her forward so she was pressed up against him. She melted into his touch. His mouth was on hers again. He could feel her resolve weakening. He could tell by the way that she was kissing him back.

He was lost again for a moment as they kissed. She broke apart from him and took several steps backwards. She looked shaken. Her skin was flushed and she was breathing heavily. She adjusted her glasses and straightened her clothing nervously.

Oliver sighed. "Why do I feel like there's a but coming..."

She bit her bottom lip. "But... this isn't something I think we should rush into tonight. There's a lot at stake here Oliver, for the both of us. I would feel a lot better about this if I knew you weren't coming off a head injury."

He walked towards her. She backed away some more.

"Oliver, you had better stay over there. If you get too close to me we'll just end up doing... that... again."

"You say it as if it's a bad thing." He moved closer, knowing that she would soon be right up against the wall of the foundry.

"There's a lot of potential for hurt here Oliver. This would change things. I would like both of us to come in together on the same page. I feel as though you may have skipped ahead a few pages from where you were last week. I want you to be sure that this is what you really want." She moved back away from him again and found herself pressed up against the wall.

He moved forward slowly and placed the palms of his hands on the wall so that she was in the middle between his arms. He was careful not to touch her. He leaned into her so that his face was close to hers. She avoided meeting his eyes.   
Oliver brought his forehead so it was almost touching hers. "There’s nothing I can say or do to persuade you otherwise right now?" He tried to get her to look at him. 

She wouldn't meet his gaze. She slid down the wall and ducked under one of his arms to free herself. "Right now I'm going to drive you home. We will see if you still want to continue this discussion in a couple of days. After you've had a chance to rest and think things through."

"A couple of days." He ran a hand through his hair. He knew what she was saying made sense. But he didn't think his feelings for her were going to change anytime soon. 

She moved a safe distance away from him and grabbed her jacket. "Shall we?" She gestured towards the exit.

He trailed reluctantly behind her.

 

******************************

Oliver was sitting at his desk the following day watching Felicity in the next room. She was organizing papers while scrolling through her tablet. She was wearing her hair down; she must have straightened it that morning. She was doing that more frequently since she moved up eighteen floors.

Dig cleared his throat. He was standing in Oliver’s office watching Oliver watch Felicity. "Is everything alright between you two?" Dig asked Oliver, looking through the glass wall at the woman in the next office. "You guys are acting weird." Dig paused. "Weirder than usual." 

"Hmmm? No, we're fine. We're good." Oliver nodded.

Felicity came into his office caring a file folder. "Notes for your 3 o'clock board meeting. Try to read through them before the meeting this time." She walked over to put the folder down on Oliver’s desk.

He reached up and caught her wrist gently. "Thank you,” he said.

She looked at him. They smiled at one another for a moment. He let her wrist go and she walked back into her office.

Dig raised his eyebrows.

"It's complicated." Oliver leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"You should probably un-complicate it soon." Dig gave Oliver a pointed look. "Just be careful how you go about doing that."


	6. Chapter 6

He knocked on her apartment door two nights later. He could see a brief darkening of the peephole as Felicity checked to see who was knocking. There was a pause. It was definitely taking longer than it normally would take to open the door. Oliver felt nervous all of a sudden. He wished he knew what was going on in Felicity's head to make her hesitate. At least he didn't have to think about it too much as he heard the dead bolt turn and he was suddenly looking down at Felicity.

Oliver smiled at her. This was a side of Felicity he rarely saw. She was dressed casually in jeans and form fitting tank top. Her hair was loose and it poured over her shoulders in blond waves. She must have just washed her face because the edge of her hairline was damp and her face was free of makeup. She was barefoot and it only helped emphasize the six-inch height difference between them. Bright red toenail polish reflected the fluorescent lighting in her apartment. Felicity wasn't wearing her glasses; instead they were folded over her shirt collar pulling it down to form a 'v' at her chest. His eyes lingered there.

He glanced up realizing that he probably shouldn't be staring at her cleavage. He smiled sheepishly as she flicked her gaze briefly to her chest and back to him. Busted.

"Hey. Is this a bad time? I probably should have called first."

Felicity pushed the door open all the way. "No, it's okay. Come in." She smiled at him but he could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Oliver walked into her apartment shrugging out of his coat. "You left the foundry tonight before we had a chance to talk." Oliver was also dressed casually in cargo pants and a tight fitting tee shirt. He had changed and showered after his modified evening workout. He was still being careful to avoid jarring his head.

Felicity reached for his jacket. "You were busy with Diggle and Roy. I said goodbye when I left." She draped his coat over a chair in the entranceway. 

"It's not just tonight Felicity. You've managed to avoid being alone with me every day this week."

They silently observed one another for a moment. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear nervously. "Well we're alone now. Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine?" 

"Sure, that would be nice." Oliver followed Felicity as she walked through the apartment into the kitchen. She stopped suddenly and spun around to face him. Her eyes were wide and she looked concerned.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most horrible, how awful would it be for you to drink wine from a box?” Felicity cringed awkwardly. “I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume a ten. Oliver Queen doesn't really seem like a 'wine from a box' kind of guy..."

He smiled. "It's fine Felicity." 

Felicity tilted her head and gave him a look that said she didn't quite believe him. 

"Really Felicity. It's fine." 

She turned around and opened up one of the kitchen cupboards. Felicity stood up on her tiptoes and tried to reach the wine glasses that were sitting inconveniently on the top shelf. Her tank top rode up in the process, exposing her midriff and a large percentage of her back. Oliver came up behind her so that her shoulders were resting on his chest and easily pulled the glasses down from the shelf. Felicity froze in place. He paused against her for a moment, enjoying the closeness. Oliver could feel the heat of her body against the front of his shirt. He brought his arms down and held out the wine glasses. 

"Here you go,” Oliver said softly, lowering his head so that he spoke behind one of her ears. His elbows rested along the sides of her body. Her tank top had bunched up in places and there were a number of spots where they were touching skin to skin. He noticed that the hair had risen on her arms.

Felicity took the glasses and Oliver reluctantly moved a step backwards. She pivoted around slowly to face him again. "Thank you,” Felicity said gesturing with a wine glass in each hand. "I don't know why I even keep anything up there with me being vertically challenged and all."

He smiled as she poured two glasses of wine from the box she had warned him about. She handed him one of the glasses and indicated that he should follow her into the living room. She sat down cross-legged on one end of the sofa. He took a seat beside her.

Oliver took a sip of wine. Felicity looked at him apprehensively. "I've had worse," he said. She smiled and relaxed into the sofa cushions. He took another sip and set his glass on the coffee table in front of them.

"So why have you been avoiding me Felicity?"

She looked at him through her wine glass. "I haven't been avoiding you Oliver."

"You've avoided being alone with me, it's the same thing."

"I've been trying to give you some time to think about things. Time for both of us to think about things."

"Trust me when I say that I have been thinking about nothing else since that night in the foundry. After I thought I lost you in the bombing, all the feelings that I have been trying to suppress these last months hit me like a freight train. I don't want to go on ignoring the potential of something that might be wonderful anymore. Do you not feel that way too?"

"Oliver, I've been halfway in love with you for a long time now. I know how I feel about you, that's not the reason I'm hesitating."

"Then why are you hesitating?"

"I'm scared Oliver. I'm scared of what would happen to us if this goes bad. I'm scared of what other people would think." Felicity paused. "I'm scared of wanting this too much."

"You're not the only one who's scared Felicity. Why do you think that this hasn't happened before now? I haven't been oblivious to the chemistry between us. There are reasons I've suppressed my feelings for so long. I'm scared that I'm going to hurt you or see you get hurt by the life that I lead. Scared that I might be too damaged to truly let myself care about you." He paused to take her hand and lace his fingers through it. "The way I see it is that we can face our fears together or be scared apart. I would rather be together." He brought her fingers to his mouth and gently brushed his lips across them. 

She averted her head, her eyes down as if she didn't trust herself to catch his gaze. He closed the distance between them. He let go of her hand and ran his thumb along the underside of her face, positioning her so that she was looking at him again. 

The air seemed like it was on fire between them. He lowered his head to kiss her, touching his lips to hers with a pressure so slight that he made no demands. She opened her mouth for him to taste, her lips and tongue responding. He deepened the kiss, matching her response. He ran his fingertips lightly under her shirt and over her ribs so slowly that he left goose bumps in his wake. He stopped just shy of her breasts.

Oliver ended the kiss keeping his face just above hers, testing the moment and her willingness to go further.

"Felicity?" He whispered, his hands moving behind her head, his fingers weaving through her hair. She nodded and pulled him closer to her, no longer hesitant. He kissed the base of her neck and stretched her out so that they fit together better on the couch. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his lashes sweeping across her shirt as his kissed her chest through it. He gently removed her glasses from where they were fastened on her collar and set them aside. His hands wrapped around her waist and then slid lower to the back of her thighs. He moved her so that she was resting on top of him.

He pulled back briefly to look at her. Everything seemed to rest on that moment. Electricity crackled between them. She met his gaze, her eyes full of emotion. She leaned forward and put her mouth on his again. He knew right then that there would be no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a potential for more but I would have to bump up the rating. Let me know what you think. This is my first Arrow fanfic so I would be thrilled to hear any feedback that you have. Thanks for reading :)


	7. Chapter 7

Somewhere in the back of his mind Oliver realized Felicity deserved so much more than just a frantic coupling on her couch. He pulled away from kissing her to take a breath. As though she missed the contact, she leaned forward to bring him closer, her fingernails raking across the back of his neck. She brought her mouth to his and lightly bit down on his lower lip. Desire for her coursed through him. He caught himself calculating the exact amount of force it would take to tear her shirt off without hurting her in the process. His hand wove behind her, shoving her against him as he once again pressed his lips against hers. The pressure of the kiss increased as their desire picked up.

His breathing was heavy, his whole body wanting her. His mind fought for control. Oliver knew that if he didn't stop now, he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Felicity, we should slow down." He rested his forehead against hers while they caught their breath.

"Why?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "We both want this."

He pressed his lips against her chin and made a trail of kisses from her neck to her collarbone. He pulled her up against him so that she could feel exactly just how much he wanted this.

"I want this and more Felicity. We have time, let's not rush it." 

Felicity took a moment to consider what he was saying. She nodded in agreement and lowered her head to rest against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He could feel her heart beating rapidly through the thin fabric of her shirt. 

She tilted her head towards him. "It's getting late, you can stay here tonight if you want." She smiled at him. 

He considered her offer. Felicity closed her eyes as he kissed her gently. He let himself enjoy the moment before he broke away. "I think we both know what would happen if I did." He pulled her up so they were sitting on the couch again.

"You can't blame a girl for trying." She smiled as he brought her in for one last kiss.

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 

He returned down into the foundry from his evening patrol of the Glades taking the steps two at a time. He dropped his bow and remaining arrows at the bottom of the stairs.

"Where's Digg?"

"He left after your last check in. I think he wanted to go before you got back. We’ve been making him a bit uncomfortable." 

“I’ll have a talk with him,” Oliver said knowing that Digg wanted to ask him some very pointed questions. 

They observed one another for a moment. She was dressed in her typical administrative assistant attire. She wore a short patterned dress with thin black shoulder straps and heels more than a little too high to be considered practical. Her hair was down for a change and she had straightened it so it fell flat behind her shoulders.

The last few days had passed by in a blur. Oliver found excuses to linger in her office at Queen Consolidated. They stole kisses in the elevator and the hallway and pretty much any other place that they were alone together. He purposely ensured that it didn't go too far to give her time to get used to the change in their relationship. 

Oliver took one look at Felicity and the frustration in her eyes and knew that things were about to forever change between them. He could tell that she had had enough with waiting. He took two long strides to reach her. He pulled her to him and their mouths met hard and furious. Oliver ran his fingers up her bare leg, slowly pushing the skirt of her dress up almost to her hip. Anticipation and longing filled him. Just a few short weeks ago he would never have expected anything like this to happen between them and now he was astonished at how badly he wanted it.

Her hands moved to his jacket, unzipping it so that she could touch his chest over his shirt. He shrugged off the green leather and let it fall to the floor. He wound his hands through her hair, allowing his fingers to get tangled up in the process. 

He moved his lips from hers, down to her neck and shoulder. He gently pushed one of the dress's straps down as he covered her flesh with hungry kisses. His hands moved back under her skirt to the sides of her bare hips and he lifted her so that she was sitting on the desk behind them. She ran her hands up along the sides of his face, pushing back his hood as she went. Her fingertips touched him lightly, just under where the dark mask covered his eyes. She waited until he held her gaze and then she slowly removed his mask, all the while keeping her eyes on his. A moment of extreme trust passed between them. She cupped his face and kissed him. 

She moved her hands under his shirt pulling it upwards. She took her time, once again dragging her fingernails across his bare skin as she went. Oliver groaned and tugged the shirt and his hood the final way up and over his head. She ran her hands along the front of his chest, paying attention to each scar in her path.

He pulled her roughly off the desk so that she was standing. He kissed her shoulders with an open mouth and ran his hands down her naked spine as he unzipped the back of her dress. He felt her quiver and he caressed her arms as he slid her dress down. It puddled at her feet on the floor. He unclasped her bra to reveal her breasts. 

“You are so beautiful,” he said, pausing to take her in. She was a vision just wearing her thong underwear and heels. She had even taken off her glasses at some point. Every part of him throbbed with desire. His hands circled her waist and he bent down to one of her breasts. He took her in his mouth and felt the nipple contract as he sucked gently. She gasped but didn't pull away. He suckled the other breast and then ran his tongue back up to her mouth. She moaned softly and opened her mouth to taste him.

She reached lower along the inside of his thigh and let her hand rest against where he was straining to burst free. He felt a surge at her touch and mentally cursed the restrictiveness of the leather.

“I’m going to need your help getting these off of you,” she said playfully tugging at the waist of his pants. “They’re so tight. I’ve actually always wondered how you get them on and off.”

He smiled and undid his pants. He quickly lowered them with a practiced motion. 

She gasped when she saw him, upright and ready for her. She reached forward to touch him and he moved eagerly against her hand. He groaned as she tightened her grasp on him.

He picked her up suddenly. She startled and wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself.

"Hold on tight," he told her moving them across the room. She smiled at the memory of another situation when he said those words to her. He brought them over to the training mats. Not ideal but the most comfortable option considering their situation.

He set her down carefully on her back and stretched out above her. He kissed her, letting her explore his mouth before he slowly worked his way down her neck and throat. He continued lower and hovered above her nipple, waiting until she guided his mouth to it. Her back arched as his mouth touched her and he moved his hand to the warm space between her thighs. He ran his fingers along the edge of her underwear and slipped underneath to touch her at her centre. She moaned and moved her hips. He suckled and gently bit her nipple as he moved his fingers between her legs. A cry escaped her lips and his own excitement was hard upon him. He pulled her thong down and she helped him untangle it from her legs.

Oliver positioned himself up on his elbows and looked down at her. He whispered her name and she opened her eyes to look back at him. She gave him a look of absolute trust and nodded for him to continue. He gritted his teeth for control as he entered into her. She was more than ready for him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked against him. He moved himself slowly back and forth until her gasps came with cries and he felt her hips lift. He drew back and pushed hard as she cried out in pleasure. He heard his own strained cry as they met their release together with shuddering spasms. 

Oliver lay for a moment with his head on her chest, breathing hard.

Felicity moved beneath him and he shifted positions so his weight was no longer on her.

Felicity looked down at the mat they were lying on and smiled at him her eyes shining brightly. “We need to consider investing in some creature comforts down here for next time. Or at the very least a blanket. We could have definitely used a blanket.”

Oliver smiled. He leaned forward and kissed the bridge of her nose, already thinking about next time.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> This chapter is pretty much M rated fluff. First time writing in the M world so please let me know what you think. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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